ADAMS: Doug Ford's Whiskey Theatre Won't Hide Ontario's Jobs Crisis
Doug Ford wants you to believe he's standing up for Ontario workers by threatening to pull Smirnoff and Crown Royal off LCBO shelves. What he's really doing is another round of performative populism meant to distract you from a simple fact: Under his leadership, Ontario keeps bleeding jobs. When Diageo announced the closure of its Amherstburg facility, the Ford government's first instinct wasn't to ask why a global company would want to leave Ontario in the first place. It wasn't to look at the skyrocketing cost of doing business in this province. It wasn't even asking what went wrong under three consecutive PC majorities.
No, Ford's solution is putting on another empty show and dumping a bottle of Crown Royal on the ground and calling that “leadership.”
Two hundred families in Amherstburg will lose their paycheques. But it doesn’t stop there. For every job lost inside that plant, there are more that vanish around it. From the people who make the bottles, the caps, the labels, to the truckers who deliver the product, the warehouse workers who store it, the restaurants and shops in the town that rely on those workers' paycheques. The ripple effect of one closure can wipe out hundreds more jobs. But Ford's said he'll pull Smirnoff and Crown Royal from the LCBO.
That'll show Diageo, right? Wrong.
The ordinary people, the cashiers, warehouse workers, and delivery drivers who belong to Ontario's unionized liquor workforce, the LCBO, will be hurt the most by this decision. If Ontarians really want Smirnoff or Crown Royal, they'll just drive across the border or buy it from another retailer once Ford “modernizes” alcohol sales. That money won't go into LCBO coffers, and it won't go to Ontario workers. It'll go straight to U.S. companies.
So Ford isn't punishing Diageo. He's punishing us.
Diageo is closing that plant because Ontario is no longer a competitive place to do business. Energy prices are sky-high. Taxes are suffocating. Red tape is everywhere. And instead of doing the conservative thing; cutting hydro rates, reducing taxes, and slashing regulation, Ford's PCs have spent their time handing out corporate welfare to politically connected insiders. Crown Royal is still mashed, distilled, and aged in Canada. It's not like they're outsourcing the whole operation to America. The problem isn't the workers, or the whiskey, or “greedy corporations.” The problem is the environment Ford has created, one where manufacturers and new entrepreneurs alike look at Ontario and say, “No thanks.”
What happened to the party that used to believe in the free market? What happened to the Tories who said government should get out of the way and let businesses compete? Now we've got a PC government that picks winners and losers with taxpayer money.
A Record of Promises Broken
This PC government spends billions on flashy announcements while ignoring the structural problems driving jobs out of our province. Ford's message to manufacturers around the world is simple: “Don't come to Ontario unless you're one of my friends.” And the record proves it.
Remember when he said he'd lower hydro rates? Rates are still through the roof. Remember when he said he'd cut taxes? He's raised spending to record levels and piled on new fees, while cutting services. Remember when he said he'd cut red tape? Businesses are still waiting for relief while the bureaucracy grows larger by the day. Ford loves to talk like the conservatives of old. He'll throw on a hard hat, grab a microphone, and shout about “the little guy.”
But when it's time to actually do the work, he folds faster than a cheap lawn chair. And that's what this Crown Royal stunt is: folding. Instead of taking responsibility for the disastrous economic environment he created on his own accord, he is deflecting blame onto a company for making a rational business decision to move operations somewhere cheaper.
Let's not forget: Ford has had the power to fix this for six years. Three majorities. A blank cheque from voters who wanted him to cut the pork and make Ontario competitive again. And what did we get? Record spending, ballooning debt, photo ops, and now, a Premier dumping whiskey on the pavement while pretending he's defending the working class. And the irony? The same Premier who says he's fighting for jobs continues to be the one driving them away.
Every manufacturer watching this saga unfold is getting the same message: if you make a decision Doug Ford doesn't like, he'll turn your company into a political punching bag. That's not how you attract investment. That's how you scare it off. It's the same story we've seen with auto manufacturing, with breweries, with small businesses. They're not leaving because they want to; they're leaving because they can't afford to stay.
Meanwhile, Ford's PC Party keeps using our tax dollars to subsidize billion-dollar corporations that don't need it. Handouts for electric vehicle plants owned by foreign conglomerates. Incentives for multinationals and strip club owners who pocket the money and move on. All while small and mid-sized Ontario businesses—the true backbone of our economy—are left to struggle or collapse, abandoned by Queen's Park, as the only businesses that reliably succeed in this province are those conveniently connected to Ford and his political insiders.
What Real Leadership Would Look Like
If Ford truly cared about the workers in Amherstburg, he'd make Ontario a province worth investing in again. That means lowering hydro costs. It means cutting taxes. It means eliminating the endless red tape that drives up costs and delays every project. It means actually governing with the common sense he promised, not chasing headlines with cheap theatrics.
But Ford doesn't want to do the hard work. He wants the photo op. He'll pose with a bottle, dump it on the ground, and shout about how tough he is on “greedy corporations.” Meanwhile, the real people, the ones who make the bottles, deliver the crates, pour the drinks, and cash the LCBO paycheques, are left to clean up the mess. And it's time Ontarians saw it for what it is: a government addicted to performance, allergic to principle, and completely out of touch with the people it claims to represent.
Doug Ford can dump all the whiskey he wants, but he can't pour away the truth: Ontario is no longer a place where jobs thrive; it's a place where politicians perform.
This piece was written by an individual contributor and reflects the editorial position of The Provincial Times and Left Lane Media Group. Read our Content Policy here.
